Qambel Maran- Syriac chants from South India- a review and liturgical music tradition of Syriac Christians revisited

Qambel Maran- Syriac chants from South India- a review and liturgical music tradition of Syriac Christians revisited4.67/5 (93.33%) 9 ratings

Qambel Maran- Syriac chants from South India- a review and liturgical music tradition of Syriac Christians revisited

Qambel Maran- Syriac chants from South India- a review and liturgical music tradition of Syriac Christians revisited

The liturgical music tradition among Syriac Christians is unique. Though the Syriac churches flourished in Indian culture for nearly 2000 years, they continued using Syriac language and Syriac musical tradition.1. Even after divisions and latinisation attempts, Syriac churches were successful in keeping their Syriac music. Recently, all Syriac churches vernacularised their liturgy but the Syriac music prevailed in the Malayalam verses.

There are two music traditions among Syriac Christians in Kerala- East Syriac and West Syriac. Some of the ancient chants composed by Ephraem, the Syrian are used in both traditions. Syro Malabar Church and the Chaldean Church of Trichur (Church of the East) follow the East Syriac traditions and the different Orthodox/Jacobite churches follow the West Syriac tradition in their liturgies.

The ancient Christianity was evolved in Syriac culture and language. The Aramaic language was the official tongue of the Asia Minor up to Arabian Peninsula for many centuries. The flexibility of this Semitic language helped the expression and propagation of early Christianity up to India and beyond. Many early Christian writings have come to us in Syriac and constitute a great body of patristic, historical and exegetical work. Some of finest hymns and theological texts originated in the minds of Syriac speaking scholars who dominated the Eastern Christian realm.2

The St Thomas Christians used East Syriac Liturgy and East Syriac chants before the arrival of the Portuguese Missionaries. The rich liturgical heritage of the East Syriac church can be traced back to the early centuries of Christianity. The Anaphora of apostles Addai and Mari constitutes the earliest surviving anaphora.3

History of Syriac chants goes back to the period of Ephraim, the Syrian. (AD 306-373). The liturgical chants in the East Syriac tradition were reformed by Babai of Gabilta in the 8th century. The East Syriac liturgy says “as our melodies are beautiful, so, let our conduct be the same in His presence, so that with our words and our deeds, we may please the Lord.”4.

A new set of Syriac music also evolved in Kerala due to the attempts of latinisations by the Portuguese missionaries. This has historical and ethno musicological importance also.

When the Portuguese missionaries arrived, they wanted to introduce Latin liturgy among Syriac Christians. Syriac Christians vehemently opposed to it. Nothing other than Syriac was acceptable to them. So, the missionaries had to compromise and they had to satisfy with modifications only in the Syriac liturgy to remove the so called Nestorian elements. (Synod of Diamper 1599). Later due to political and other reasons, the Syriac Christians revolted against the missionaries at the historic Coonan cross oath. (1653). This made the missionaries to become a bit mild in their latinisation attempts and due to various factors like involvement of Carmelite Missionaries, the fact that the revolted group did not have a legitimate bishopric, also due to the political pressure from the Portuguese through the local kings etc., sections of Syriac Christians returned and joined with the missionaries. Subsequently, the missionaries were successful in introducing some Latin practices among the Syriac Christians like the benediction novena, solemn vespers, litany etc. that too only after translating the services into Syriac. This led to composition of appropriate chants in Syriac. These were created by either the missionaries or the local indigenous Syriac Christians.

All these were vernacularised in 1960s but the Syriac music prevailed. Fr. Abel Periappuram CMI (1920-2001) played a significant role in the transition of Syriac liturgy into Malayalam in the Syro Malabar church and he kept the Syriac music in the vernacularised liturgy which facilitated the continuity of the Syriac music tradition.

The role played by CMI congregation in Syro Malabar church in preserving the Syriac tradition is very important. The CMI congregation was created by Palackal Thoma Malpan (1780-1841), Porukkara Thoma Kathanaar (1799-1846) and Bl Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871) as the first indigenous monastic congregation for the Syriac Christians at Mannanam in Kottayam district of Kerala. It was the brain child of Palackal Thoma Malpan. Mannanam played a very important role in the evolution of Syro Malabar church in the Roman Catholic communion. Bl. Kuriackose Elias established St. Joseph’s press in 1844 to print Syriac books. It has to be noted that the same CMI fathers were instrumental in introducing many Latin practices in the Syro Malabar church, diluting its Syriac Christian heritage.

Qambel Maran is a music CD released by Pan Records Netherlands under their ethnic series by the Christian Musicological Society of India. This CD contains chants of the Syriac Christians of Kerala, South India. This contains 29 Syriac chants in 5 different sections sung by a few CMI priests from Kerala with Syriac choir in different Syro Malabar churches. This 66 minute CD comes with a 16 page very informative booklet also with relevant photographs. The booklet provides useful historical, linguistic and musical information on the chants. English translation and transliteration of the contents of the CD is also available.

This is a research product of Rev. Dr. Joseph Palackal, a CMI priest from Syro Malabar Church. He is a musicologist, composer and singer with special interest in the musical traditions of Indian Christians. He is the founder president of the Christian Musicology Society of India. He earned degrees in Christian theology, Psychology, and Hindustani classical vocal music in India and Ph. D. in Ethnomusicology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has published a number of research papers in English and Malayalam.5

The authorship of most of these chants is unknown. These are handed over by generations. Chants 3 and 16 are probably by Ephraim the Syrian. These texts were transmitted orally and via manuscripts until 19 century when printing in Syriac started in Kerala. The producer has confirmed the source of the text from the collection of ancient Syriac books at St. Joseph’s Monastery, Mannanam, Kottayam.

The music of these chants is the same as the liturgical songs of Middle Eastern churches. This music is also handed over to generations by oral tradition. There were some attempts to publish notations but that did not get popularized and there were regional deviations also. The producers deserve compliments in that they have taken very keen interest in keeping the traditional music in this CD. This is a real attempt to preserve our Syriac music heritage which is being disintegrated due to the vernacularisation of the liturgy. Note that these chants were sung by the choir of two Syro Malabar churches- St John’s Konthuruthy and St Mary’s Forane Church, Pallipuram, Cherthala, and the latter choir consists of a family who performs in the parish for more than a century which confirms the continuation of the tradition.

Violin, Harmonium, Drum and Triangle are the commonly used musical instruments in the liturgy. Violin is referred by Syriac music performers in Kerala as fiddle or rebec. All of these are string instruments and rebec, although it is a European instrument, it was derived from rebab, an Arabic- Islamic instrument. So, it is possible that we would have used such an instrument in the pre Portugese period. Harmonium, drum and triangle are probably European introductions.

This CD contains Syriac chants from different time span- from the ancient time of St. Ephraim, the Syrian, through the Portuguese latinisation era of composition of indigenous Syriac chants- showing a historical transformation of Syriac music heritage in Kerala. It is also a model for future researchers to study lesser-known musical genres in India.6

These Syriac liturgical chants are categorized into the following different names.7

Slotza – it is a prayer.
Hutamma is a concluding prayer at the end of a service.
A psalm is called mazmora.
Marmiza is a set of two or more psalms.
Chants of praise are called tesbohta.
Madrasas contain didactic texts which are sung in a solo refrain manner.
Turgama is an interpretation of biblical text.
Onita is a very popular type of chant which is sung in two groups that alternate the strobes The strobes begins with an incipit- suraya- which is often a verse from psalms that introduces the theme of the strobe and often falls outside the syllabic structure of the strobe The designated leader of each group intones the incipit that serves also as a cue for the melody of the strobe.

Some of these chants are restricted for certain occasions only-for example, services for the dead, some are only sung for funeral services of clergy, some are only for Raza etc.

The most common hours are Ramsa, (evening) and Sapra (morning) in the East Syriac tradition. Leliya (night) is sung by monastic communities only.

1.Awun D’wasmayya- our father in heaven.

The Lord’s Prayer contains probably the exact words that Jesus taught his disciples. The chant begins with the greeting of the angels to the shepherds at Christmas night- and on earth, peace and good hope for all people Luke 1:14.In the East Syriac tradition, the prayer is further interpolated four times with the text based on the hymn of angels mentioned in Isaiah 6:3 and revelations 4:8- “Holy Holy Holy are you-qandis qandis qandisat. This chant is a slota.-prayer or supplication and is a part of solemn vespers- sung ramsa. The celebrant and the choir alternate the verses and the deacon concludes the chant with a wish for peace (n’salle slamma Amman)

2 Hallel hallel- praise praise

This is from Leliya. Usually sung before the Christmas night qurbana.This chant is from the third marmiza that consists of psalm 93, 94 and 95 “we glorify you with songs, the angels sang hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, at the birth of the Christ the King”, and “the being who is from the eternity”

This is an acrostic hymn by St Ephraim titled “Hymn of praise composed by St Ephraem with the letters of Jesus Christ-tesbota d’awida I mar aprem al atwata d’ Iso maran m’siha. It is sung in Sapra on a Sunday. This melody is one of those common to all the Syriac traditions in Kerala.

4 Marya kolhon hawbai-Lord all my faults

This is an onitsa from Lelia on Thursday. The text describes the cry of a repentant sinner who seeks refuge in God’s mercy.

5 Bendan sapra- in the morning

This is an onitsa from sapra on Monday. This describes the scene at the second coming of Christ. This is an example of hepta syllabic verses in Syriac poetry, popularized by St Ephraem – B’en-dan-sap-ra-d’met-pat-hin

6. Esthappanos

This is an onitsa from ramsa on Tuesday. It describes the death of St Stephen, the martyr.

7 Brik hannana-blessed is the merciful one.

This is a tesbohta from leliya on a Sunday praising the mystery of incarnation.

8 Etpan al slotsa- turn to the prayer.

This is a tesbohta from Leliya on a Monday.

9 Taw n’yaqar- come let us honour

This is from the Leliya on the feast of virgins

II CHANTS FROM THE RAZA

The most solemn form of East Syriac Qurbana is called Raza. The degree of solemnity depends on the number of celebrants, number of readings and chants, rubrics, musical instruments and incense. Raza are celebrated on feasts.

10 Sliwa dahwa ian- the cross that became for us

The public veneration of the cross is part of the introductory ceremonies of Raza. The celebrant offers the cross to the people who show their respect by kissing it.

11 O dezdamman inja-O you are invited

This is a turgamma-interpretation to prepare people to listen to the reading from the Bible. A special feature of this particular chant is the addition of the vocable inja at the end of each line which is not in the text, in order to fill the melodic and metric structure. Such practice, which is common in secular folk songs in Kerala, seems to be peculiar to the liturgical tradition of the Syro Malabar church.

12 K’tawa ramba- the great book

This is sung in the Raza during the gospel procession. The same text and melody is sung four times, each time, with a different incipit.

13 Slam lek maryam- hail Mary

This is a hutamma-concluding prayer from the liturgy for the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The celebrant sings the verses and the congregation responds by singing amen

III CHANTS FROM THE SERVICES FOR THE DEAD

14 Qambel maran- receive o our lord

This madrasa from the short form of the office for the dead sung in a solo- group format. The celebrant sings the verses and the congregation repeats the first stanza as a refrain. This is sung by Fr Abel in this CD- probably the only recorded music by Fr Abel available.

15 La tekre lak- don’t be sorry

This is from the funeral services for the lay people. This is sung during the funeral procession from the home to the church.

16 Laika ezal min ruhak- where shall I go from your spirit

This is written by St Ephraem, based on psalm 139. The text is an example of syriac prosody in which a strophe consists of lines with varying number of syllables- e.g. lines of 8, 9, 10 and 7 as in lai-ka-ma-ran/ne-roq-ne-nnak//W’ai-na-at-ra/net-thse-min-qud-maik// en-hu-mar-d’har-te/d’al-ma-ma-thyat-la//b’rah-me-neh-we/su-la-mma//

17 B’had min yawmin- on one of the days

This is a madrasa for the funeral services for lay women. The text describes the sorrow of Martha and Mary at the loss of their brother Lazarus.

These chants belong to the particular phase of the history of Syro Malabar church and hence important historically.

19. Quryelaison- Lord have mercy
This was used in the litany in honour of Blessed Virgin Mary- para liturgical service called ladinj.

20. Ha qes sliwa- Behold the wood of cross

This is used in Good Friday celebrations. This is a translation from Latin service.

21 Sanbah lesan- praise my tongue

This is a free translation of the first stanza of the famous Latin hymn Pange Lingua- Sing my tongue- used in benediction of Corpus Christi.

22 Kollan dasne- Let us all offer.

Syriac translation of the last two stanzas of Latin hymn Pange Lingua.

23 Ta lak ruha- Come O spirit.

This is the Syriacised Latin chant Veni Creator Spiritus. For the invocation of Holy Spirit in the ordination rites.

24 Slam lek- Hail to you.

This is a Latin chant Salve Regina translated into Syriac, used in Syro Malabar church in various occasions like ladinj etc.

V. CHANTS FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS

25. Bar marium- Son of Mary.

This is an ancient chant used by the Knanaya Community in the wedding ceremony.

26 Lak mar yawsep- You, St Joseph.

This is a chant praising St. Joseph. This was probably introduced in the post Diamper period in devotion to St. Joseph.

27. Sanbah I’marya- Praise the lord

Psalm 117 is sung with a refrain halleluijah added to each verse. This is sung as a part of flag hoisting ceremony on the first day of the parish Feast.

28. Hadmin ire- One from the angels.

This is about the angel Gabriel, used during the feast of annunciation on March 25.

29 B’eda d’yawman- On this festival day.

This is a tesbohta in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the solemn vespers for Marian feasts.

In all of these chants except bar marium, no female voice is heard which denotes that in the past, Syriac choir was male only. It may be that women were not allowed in the bema.

This CD is a very valuable piece of work in the Syriac heritage. As the liturgy was vernacularised, the Syriac heritage is slowly disintegrating in our community. This is causing identity crisis which is the important cause of the differences in the church. I think, this CD will revive our old Syriac music tradition in our churches and will be a valuable guide to our choir. We should encourage the choir to sing a few of these Syriac chants in the Holy Qurbana on at least Sundays. The synod should also instruct the community to use these beautiful chants in our Qurbana.

PS. Many thanks to Mr. Bernard Kleikamp ( PAN Records, Netherlands) and Rev. Dr. Joseph Palackal for permission to use two clips of 30 sec. length each from the CD as a sample in the article.

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I am a Medical Doctor practicing as a General Surgeon. Studying about Syriac Christianity, especially Thomasine Christianity has been a passion for me. I was stimulated by NSC Network to learn more through its articles and discussions.

8 Comments

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November 1, 2008

Dear M Thomas Antony

Excellent article on Qambel Maran. Can you share some options to buy the CD ? Are there any deals or discounts available ?

It’s a great effort from Rev. Dr. Joseph Palackal. Malayalam Qurbana was introduced in Syro Malabar Church in 1962 and in 48 years the old chants were completely forgotten. With out efforts like this, these beautiful chants would have been completely disappeared from scene with out any trace. Most of these chants are new information to me. I just looked for the text of these chants, are they available ? Are you aware of any similar research in Jacobite/ Orthodox churches ?

I really enjoyed listening to the clips of Iso maran msiha and B’had min yawmin. It was a novel idea to include the audio clips for the benefit of all. Influence of inspired poet, St Ephraem is widely visible.

Thank you for the comment. I bought the CD from PAN Records directly. I paid Euros 20/GBP 15( including postage) via paypal and they promptly posted the CD in a few days. They can be contacted via e mail [email protected] and they will advise regarding payment.

To be honest, when Bernard Kleikamp of PAN records gave me permission to put 2 clipsin the article for listening, I found it very difficult to choose as all of them were equally good. I think we all should pay thanks to late Fr. Abel for preserving these tunes in our Qurbana when he translated them to Malayalam and Rev. Dr. Palackal for this great work to revive our great tradition.

I think Fr Palackal’s doctoral thesis involved studies about “Octoechoes” of antiochien rite also but as far as I am aware, there is no music CD like Qambel Maran with it.

The CD comes with an informative booklet. The English translation and transliteration of the text is available to download at http://www.cmsindia.org but it doesn’t open for me probably due to incompatibility of different versions of MS word. Fr. Palackal has kindly sent me a copy of it.

I am having Qambel Maran CD with me from past 2 years.I had great difficulty in getting a copy as it was not available in India.I contacted Fr.joseph palackal cmi who now resides in new york.He told me that a copy will cost Rs.600 in India.Fortunately I got a copy from one of the priest.Since then I used to listen to the chants frequently.

I have memories of these alluring tunes, from the time before the indigeniztion following the II Vatican Council, in the early 60s.My mother used to sing them to me, apart from what I listened to during the daily liturgical services I atended as a child, as we near a Church. Now, after nearly half a century, I am gladdened to hear them again. When the Asianet Channel was set up in 1992, i had suggested to the pioneering people behind it to do something to preserve these songs by making a database and recordings using the servies of senior priests and nuns as well as surviving old kapyars of churches in the Palai diocese. As I moved out of Kerala soon enough, I couldn’t follow it up. Now I am in Libya, living in Ajdabiya near Benghazi. Could you guide me as to how to get aCD?

This is an excellant article. The transliteration of the text was available to http://www.cmsindia.org.
An important hymn was Track 12 K’tawa ramba- the great book

“This is sung in the Raza during the gospel procession. The same text and melody is sung four times, each time, with a different incipit. The translieteration of this is below”

K’tawa ramba- the great book

In the beginning of the books it is written about me.

Holy book of glad news of the redeemer Christ the king,
Wrote those who were inspired;
Matthew for the believers among the Jews,
And Mark did it for those in Rome, Luke wrote for the Egyptians,
And John for the Church of Ephesians.
Lord, all people read this book
And meditate on thy word, proclaiming
Thy great glory and praising thee all over the world.

O God, I was pleased to do thy will.

Holy book of glad news …..

I was told that this hymn was a proof of the antiquity of the East Syriac Qurbana, because till this hymn was identifyed there were no indications to where the 4 evangelists stayed and for whom the gospels were written for.

Very nice to read this essay and know about the Syriac music. Some more from the CD, Qambel Maran: Syriac Chants from South India. Produced by PAN Records, Netherlands.

Our Father in Syriac from the Chaldean Rite of the Syro-Malabar Church
Recorded on Augst 29, 1999, at St. Joseph’s Monastery, Mannanam, Kerala, India.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M582z2M7b10

Kollan dasne Syriac translation of Pange Lingua by St. Thomas Aquinas
Syriac translation of the Latin chant Tantum Ergo by St. Thomas Aquinas. Used for the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala, India. Recorded on August 27, 1999, at St. Joseph’s Monastery, Mannanam, Kerala.